Name

The
Surah derived its name from the words lima
tuharrimuof the very first verse. This too is
not a title of its subject matter, but the name implies that it is
the Surah in which the incident of tahrim(prohibition, forbiddance) has been
mentioned.

Period
of Revelation

In
connection with the incident of tahrimreferred to in this Surah, the
traditions of the Hadithmention two ladies who were among the
wives of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) at that time Hadrat
Safiyyah and Hadrat Mariyah Qibtiyyah. The former (i. e. Hadrat
Safiyyah) was taken to wife by the Holy Prophet after the conquest of
Khaiber, and Khaiber was conquered, as has been unanimously reported,
in A. H. 7. The other lady, Hadrat Mariyah, had been presented to the
Holy Prophet by Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt, in A. H. 7 and she had
borne him his son, Ibrahim, in Dhil-Hijjah, A. H. 8.These historical
events almost precisely determine that this Surah was sent down some
time during A.H. 7 or A. H 8.

Theme
and Topics

This
is a very important Surah in which light has been thrown on some
questions of grave significance with reference to some incidents
concerning the wives of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's
peace).

First,
that the powers to prescribe the bounds of the lawful and the
unlawful, the permissible and the forbidden, are entirely and
absolutely in the hand of Allah and nothing has been delegated even
to the Prophet of Allah himself, not to speak of any other man. The
Prophet as such can declare something lawful or unlawful only if he
receives an inspiration from Allah to do so whether that inspiration
is embodied in the Qur'an, or imparted to, him secretly. However,
even the Prophet is not authorized to declare anything made
permissible by Allah unlawful by himself, much less to say of another
man.

Second,
that in any society the position of a Prophet is very delicate. A
minor incident experienced by an ordinary man in his life may not be
of any consequence, but it assumes the status of law when experienced
by a Prophet. That is why the lives of the Prophets have been kept
under close supervision by Allah so that none of their acts, not even
a most trivial one, may deviate from Divine Will. Whenever such an
act has emanated from a Prophet, it was rectified and rectified
immediately so that the Islamic law and its principles should reach
the people in their absolute purity not only through the Divine Book
but also through the excellent example of the Prophet, and they
should include nothing which may be in disagreement with Divine Will,

Thirdly,
and this automatically follows from the above mentioned point, that
when the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) was checked on a minor
thing, which was not only corrected but also recorded, it gives us
complete satisfaction that whatever actions and commands and
instructions we now find in the pure life of the Holy Prophet
concerning which there is nothing on record in the nature of
criticism or correction from Allah, they are wholly based on truth,
are in complete conformity with Divine Will and we can draw guidance
from them with full confidence and peace of mind.

The
fourth thing that we learn from this discourse is that about the Holy
Messenger himself, whose reverence and respect Allah Himself has
enjoined as a necessary part of the Faith of His servants, it has
been stated in this Surah that once during his sacred life he made a
thing declared lawful by Allah unlawful for himself only to please
his wives; then Allah has severely reproved for their errors those
very wives of the Holy Prophet, whom He Himself has declared as
mothers of the faithful and worthy of the highest esteem and honor by
them. Then, this criticism of the Prophet and the administration of
the warning to the wives also has not been made secretly but included
in the Book, which the entire Ummahhas to read and recite for ever.
Obviously, neither the intention of making mention of it in the Book
of Allah was, nor it could be, that Allah wanted to degrade His
Messenger and the mothers of the faithful in the eyes of the
believers; and this also is obvious that no Muslim has lost respect
for them, in his heart after reading this Surah of the Qur'an. Now,
there cannot be any other reason of mentioning this thing in the
Qur'an than that Allah wants to acquaint the believers with the
correct manner of reverence for their great personalities. The
Prophet is a Prophet, not God, that he may commit no error. Respect
of the Prophet has not been enjoined because he is infallible, but
because he is a perfect representative of Divine Will, and Allah has
not permitted any of his errors to pass by unnoticed. This gives us
the satisfaction that the noble pattern of life left by the Prophet
wholly and fully represents the will of Allah. Likewise, the
Companions of the holy wives of the Prophet, were human, not angels
or super men. They could commit mistakes. Whatever ranks they
achieved became possible only because the guidance given by Allah and
the training imparted by Allah's Messenger had moulded them into the
finest models. Whatever esteem and reverence they deserve is on this
very basis and not on the presumption that they were infallible. For
this reason, whenever in the sacred lifetime of the Prophet (upon him
be peace) the Companions or holy wives happened to commit an error
due to human weakness, they were checked. Some of their errors were
corrected by the Holy Prophet, as has been mentioned at many places
in the Hadith;
some other errors were mentioned in the Qur'an and Allah Himself
corrected them so that the Muslims might not form any exaggerated
notion of the respect and reverence of their elders and great men,
which might raise them from humanity to the position of gods and
goddesses. If one studies the Quran carefully, one will see instances
of this one after the other. In Surah Al-Imran, in connection with
the Battle of Uhud, the Companions have been addressed and told:

"Allah
did fulfill His promise (of help) to you : in the initial stage of
the battle, it was you who were killing them by Allah's leave until
you lost heart and disputed about your duty and disobeyed your
leader, when Allah showed you what (the spoils) you coveted for there
were among you sortie who hankered after the life of this world, and
others: who cherished the life after death. Then Allah caused your
retreat before the disbelievers in order to test you, but the fact is
that even then Allah pardoned you, for Allah is very gracious to the
believers." (v. 152).

In
surah An-Nur, in connection with the Slander against Hadrat Aisha,
the Companions were told,

"When
you heard of it, why did not the believing men and the believing
women have a good opinion of themselves, and why did they not say:
this is a manifest slander?......Were it not for Allah's grace and
mercy towards you in this world and in the Hereafter, a painful
scourge would have visited you because of the slander. (Just
consider) when you passed this lie on from one tongue to the other
and uttered with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge. You
took it as a trifling matter whereas it was a grave offense in the
sight of Allah. Why did you not, as soon as you heard of it, say 'It
is not proper for us to utter such a thing? Glory be to Allah! This
is a great slander'."Allah admonishes you that in future you
should never repeat anything like this, if you are true believers."
(vv. 12-I7).

In
surah Al-Ahzab, the holy wives have been addressed thus: "O
Prophet, say to your wives If you seek the world and its adornments,
come, I shall give you of these and send you off in a good way. But
if you seek Allah and His Messenger and the abode of the Hereafter,
you should rest assured that Allah has prepared a great reward for
those of you, who do good." (vv. 28-29).

In
Surah Jumu'ah about the Companions it was said:

"And
when they saw some merchandise and amusement they broke off to it and
left you (O Prophet) standing (in the course of the Sermon). Say to
them : that which is with Allah is far better than amusement and
merchandise, and Allah is the best of all providers." (v. 11).

In
Surah Al-Mumtahinah, Hadrat Hatib bin Abi Balta'ah, a Companion who
had fought at Badr, was severely taken to task because he had sent
secret information to the disbelieving Quraish about the Holy
Prophet's invasion before the conquest of Makkah.

All
these instances are found in the Qur'an itself, in the same Qur'an in
which Allah Himself has paid tribute to the Companions and the holy
wives for their great merits, and granted them the certificate of His
good pleasure, saying: "Allah became well pleased with them and
they with Allah." It was this same moderate and balanced
teaching of the reverence and esteem of the great men, which saved
the Muslims from falling into the pit of man worship in which the
Jews and the Christians fell, and it is a result of the same that in
the books that the eminent followers of the Sunnahhave compiled on the subjects of the
Hadith,
Commentary of the Qur'an and History, not only have the excellences
and great merits of the Companions and holy wives and other
illustrious men been mentioned, but also no hesitance has been shown
in mentioning the incidents relating to their weaknesses, errors and
mistakes, whereas those scholars were more appreciative of the merits
and excellences of the great men and understood the bounds and limits
of reverence better than those who claim to be the upholders of
reverence for the elders today.

The
fifth thing that has been explicitly mentioned in this Surah is that
Allah's Religion is absolutely fair and just. It has for every person
just that of which he becomes worthy on the basis of his faith and
works. No relationship or connection even with the most righteous
person can be beneficial for him in any way and no relationship or
connection with the most evil and wicked person can be harmful for
him in any way. In this connection three kinds of women have been
cited as examples before the holy wives in particular. One example is
of the wives of the Prophets Noah and Lot, who, if they had believed
and cooperated with their illustrious husbands, would have occupied
the same rank and position in the Muslim community. which is enjoyed
by the wives of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace
and blessings). But since they were disbelievers, their being the
wives of the Prophets did not help them and they fell into Hell. The
second example is of the wife of Pharaoh, who in spite of being the
wife of a staunch enemy of God believed and chose a path of action
separate from that followed by the Pharaoh's people, and her being
the wife of a staunch disbeliever did not cause her any harm, and
Allah made her worthy of Paradise. The third example is of Hadrat
Maryam (Mary) (peace be upon her), who attained to the high rank
because she submitted to the severe test to which Allah had decided
to put her. Apart from Mary no other chaste and righteous girl in the
world ever has been put to such a hard test that in spite of being
unmarried, she might have been made pregnant miraculously by Allah's
command and informed what service her Lord willed to take from her.
When Hadrat Maryam accepted this decision, and agreed to bear, like a
true believer, everything that she inevitably had to bear in order to
fulfill Allah's will, then did Allah exalt her to the noble rank of
Sayyidatu
an-nisa' fil- Jannah:
"Leader of the women in Paradise" (Musnad Ahmad).

Besides,
another truth that we learn from this Surah is that the Holy Prophet
(upon whom be peace) did not receive from Allah only that knowledge
which is included and recorded in the Qur'an, but he was given
information about other things also by revelation, which has not been
recorded in the Qur'an. Its clear proof is verse 3 of this Surah. In
it we are told that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) confided a
secret to one of his wives, and she told it to another. Allah
informed the Holy Prophet of this secret. Then, when the Holy Prophet
warned his particular wife on the mistake of disclosure and she
said:"Who has informed you of this mistake of mine7" he
replied: "I have been informed of it by Him Who knows everything
and is All Aware." Now, the question is where in the Qur'an is
the verse in which Allah has said "O Prophet, the secret that
you had confided to one of your wives, has been disclosed by her to
another person, or to so and so?If there is no such verse in the
Qur'an, and obviously there is none, this is an express proof of the
fact that revelation descended on the Holy Prophet besides the Qur'an
as well. This refutes the claim of the deniers of Hadith,
who allege that nothing was sent down to the Holy Prophet (upon whom
be peace) apart from the Qur'an.

In
the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

[1-2]
O Prophet, why do you make unlawful that which Allah has permitted
for you?1
(Is it because) you seek the good-will of your wives?2
Allah is All-Forgiving All Merciful.3
Allah has already appointed a way to absolve you (people) from your
oaths.4
Allah is your Master, and He alone is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.5

[3]
(And this also is noteworthy that) the Prophet had confided a matter
to a wife in secret. Then, when she disclosed the secret (to
another), and Allah informed the Prophet (of the disclosure of the
secret), the Prophet made known (to the wife) part of it and
overlooked part of it. So when the Prophet told her (of the
disclosure), she asked, "Who informed you of this?" The
Prophet said, "I was informed by Him Who knows everything and is
All-Aware."6

[4-5]
If you both (women) repent to Allah, (it is better for you), for your
hearts have swerved from the right path7
and if you supported each other against the Prophet,8
you should know that Allah is his Protector, and after Him Gabriel
and the righteous believers and the angels are his companions and
helpers.9
It may well be that if the Prophet divorces all of you, Allah will
give him in your place better wives,10
who are true Muslims, who are believing11
and obedient,12
penitent,13
worshiping,14
and given to fasting,15
be they previously married or virgins.

[6-7]
O you who have believed, save yourselves and your households from a
Fire whose fuel shall be the men and the stones,16
over which shall be appointed fierce and stern angels, who never
disobey Allah's Command and do as they are commanded.17
(At that time it will be said:) "O disbelievers, do not make
excuses today. You are being recompensed only for what you were
doing."18

[8]
O you who have believed, turn to Allah in sincere repentance.19
(It may well be that) Allah will remove your evils from you and admit
you into Gardens underneath which rivers will be flowing.20
It will be a Day when Allah will not humiliate His Prophet and those
who have believed with him.21
Their light shall be running on before them and on their right hands,
and they will be saying, "O our Lord, perfect our light for us
and forgive us: You have power over all."22

[9]
O Prophet, wage Jihad against the disbelievers and the hypocrites,
and be stern with them.23
Their abode is Hell, and an evil abode it is!

[10-12]
Allah cites for the disbelievers the example of the wives of Noah and
Lot. They were married to two of Our righteous servants, but they
betrayed their husbands,24
and they could not avail theta anything against Allah. To both it was
said, "Enter the Fire along with those who enter," And for
the believers, Allah cites the example of the wife of Pharaoh, when
she prayed, "My Lord, build for me, in Your Presence, a house in
Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his work25
and deliver me from the wicked." And (Allah) cites the example
of Mary, daughter of Imran,26
who had guarded her chastity.27
So We breathed into her body of Our Spirit,28
and she testified to the Words of her Lord and His Books, and she was
one of the obedient.29

1This
is not, in fact, a question but an expression of disapproval. The
object is not to ask the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's peace)
why he had done so, but to warn him that his act to make unlawful
for himself what Allah had made lawful is not approved by Allah.
This by itself gives the meaning that nobody has the power to make
unlawful what Allah has made lawful; so much so that the Holy
Prophet (upon whom be peace) himself also did not possess any such
power. Although the Holy Prophet did not regard this as unlawful as
a matter of faith nor legally but only forbade himself its use, yet
since he was not an ordinary man but Allah's Messenger, and his
forbidding himself something could have the effect that his
followers too would have regarded it as forbidden, or at least
reprehensible, or the people of his community might have thought
that there was no harm in forbidding oneself something his Allah had
made lawful, Allah pointed it out to him and commanded him to
refrain from such prohibition.

2This
shows that in this case the Holy Prophet had not made a lawful thing
unlawful because of a personal desire but because his wives had
wanted him to do so, and he had made it unlawful for himself only in
order to please them. Here, the question arises: why has Allah
particularly made mention of the cause of making the thing unlawful
besides pointing out the act of prohibition? Obviously, if the
object had been to make him refrain from making a lawful thing
unlawful, this could be fulfilled by the first sentences and there
was no need that the motive of the act also should have been stated.
Making mention of it in particular clearly shows that the object was
not to check the Holy Prophet only for making a lawful thing
unlawful, but along with that to warn the holy wives also to the
effect that in their capacity as the Prophet's wives they had not
understood their delicate responsibilities and had made the Holy
Prophet do a thing which could lead to making a lawful thing
unlawful.

Although
it has not been mentioned ill the Qur'an as to what it was that the
Holy Prophet had forbidden himself yet the traditionists and
commentators have mentioned in this regard two different incidents,
which occasioned the revelation of this verse. One of these relates
to Hadrat Mariyah Qibiyyah (Mary, the Copt lady) and the other to
his forbidding himself the use of honey.

The
incident relating to Hadrat Mariyah is that after concluding the
peace treaty of Hudaibiyah one of the letters that the Holy Prophet
(upon whom be Allah's peace) sent to the rulers of the adjoining
countries was addressed to the Roman Patriarch of Alexandria also,
whom the Arabs called Muqawqis. When Hadrat Hatib bin Abi Balta a
took this letter to him, he did not embrace Islam but received him
well, and in reply wrote: "I know that a Prophet is yet to
rise, but I think he will appear in Syria. However, I have treated
your messenger with due honor, and am sending two slave-girls to
you, who command respect among the Coptics. " (Ibn Sa'd). One
of those slave-girls was Sirin and the other Mariyah (Mary). Un his
way back from Egypt Hadrat Hatib presented Islam before both and
they believed. When they came before the Holy Prophet (upon whom be
peace) he gave Sirin in the ownership of Hadrat Hassan bin Thabit
and admitted Hadrat Mariyah into his own household. In Dhil-Hijjah,
A.H. 8 she gave birth to the Holy Prophet's son, Ibrahim.
(Al-Isti'ab; Al-Isabah). This lady was very beautiful. Hafiz Ibn
Hajar in Al-Isabah has related this saying of Hadrat 'A'ishah about
her: "No woman's entry into the Holy Prophet's household vexed
me so much as of Mariyah, because she was very beautiful and pleased
him much. " Concerning her the story that has been narrated in
several ways in the Hadith is briefly as follows:

One day
the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) visited the house of Hadrat
Hafsah when she was not at home. At that time Hadrat Mariyah came to
him there and stayed with him in seclusion. Hadrat Hafsah took it
very ill and complained of it bitterly to him. Thereupon, in order
to please her the Holy Prophet vowed that he would have no conjugal
relation with Mariyah in future. According to some traditions, he
forbade Mariyah for himself, and according to others, he also swore
an oath on it. These traditions have been mostly reported by the
immediate successors of the Companions without mentioning any
intermediary link. But some of these have been reported from Hadrat
'Umar,. Hadrat `Abdullah bin 'Abbas and Hadrat Abu Hurairah also. In
view of the plurality of the methods of narration, Hafiz Ibn Hajar
in Fath al-Bari has expressed the view that there is some truth in
the story. But in none of the six authentic collections of the
Hadith has this story been narrated. In Nasa'i only this much has
been related from Hadrat Anas: "The Holy Prophet had a
slave-girl with whom he had conjugal relations. Then, Hadrat Hafsah
and Hadrat `A'ishah began to point out this to him repeatedly until
he forbade her for himself. There upon, Allah sent down this verse:
'O Prophet. why do you make unlawful that which Allah has made
lawful for you?"

The other
incident has been related in Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i and
several other books of Hadith from Hadrat `A'ishah herself and its
purport is as follows:

“The
Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) usually paid a daily visit to all
his wives after the `Asr Prayer Once it so happened that he began to
stay in the house of Hadrat Zainab bint-Jahsh longer than usual, for
she had received some honey from somewhere as a gift and the Holy
Prophet was very fond of sweet things; therefore, he would have a
drink of honey at her house. Hadrat 'A'ishah states that she felt
envious of this and spoke to Hadrat Hafsah, Hadrat Saudah and Hadrat
Safiyyah about it and together they decided that whoever of them was
visited by the Holy Prophet, she should say to him: 'Your mouth
smells of maghafir ' Maghafir is a kind of flower, which gives out
an offensive smell, and if the bee obtains honey from it, it is also
tainted by the same odor. They all knew that the Holy Prophet was a
man of very fine taste and he abhorred that he should emit any kind
of unpleasant smell. There fore, this device was contrived to stop
him from staying in the house of Hadrat Zainab and it worked. When
several of his wives told him that his mouth smelt of Maghafir, he
made a promise not to use the honey any longer. In one tradition his
words are to the effect "Now, I will never have a drink from
it: I have sworn an oath. " In another tradition he only said:
"I will never have a drink from it," and there is no
mention of the oath And in the tradition which Ibn al Mundhir, Ibn
Abi Hatim, Tabarani and Ibn Marduyah have related from Ibn 'Abbas
the words are to the effect: "By God, I will not drink it!"

Our
eminent scholars regard this second version as correct and the first
as unreliable. Imam Nasa'i says: "About honey the Hadith
reported from Hadrat 'A'ishah is authentic, and the story of
forbidding Hadrat Mariyah for himself by the Holy Prophet has not
been narrated in a reliable way." Qadi 'Iyad says: "The
truth is that this verse was sent down concerning honey and not
Mariyah." Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-'Arabi; also regards the story
about honey as correct and the same is the opinion of Imam Nawawi
and Hafiz Badruddiu 'Aini. Ibn Humam writes in Fath al-Qadir "The
story of the prohibition of honey has been narrated in Bukhari and
Muslim from Hadrat `A'ishah who was herself a party to it;
therefore, it is much more reliable."

Hafiz Ibn
Kathir says: "The truth is that this verse was sent down about
forbidding honey for himself by the Holy Prophet."

3That
is, "Although the act of making a lawful thing unlawful only in
order to please your wives was an act unbecoming of your high and
responsible office, yet it was no sin, which might have entailed a
punishment. Therefore, Allah has only pointed it out to you and
corrected it, and has forgiven you for this error. "

4It
means: "Act according to the method Allah has prescribed for
absolution from oaths by expiation in Al-Ma'idah :89 and break your
promise that you have trade to forbid yourself a lawful thing. "
Here, an important legal question arises and it is this: Is this
Command applicable to the case when a person has forbidden himself a
lawful thing on oath, or is forbidding oneself a lawful thing by
itself tantamount to swearing an oath, whether the words of the oath
have been used or not'? The jurists in this regard have expressed
different opinions:

One
section of them says that mere forbidding oneself a lawful thing is
not an oath. If a person without swearing an oath has forbidden
himself a wife, or some other lawful thing, it is an absurd thing
which does not entail any expiation, but he can resume without any
expiation the use of the thing that he had forbidden himself. This
is the opinion of Masruq, Sha'bi, Rabi'ah and Abu Salamah; and the
same view is held by Ibn Jarir and all the Zahiris. According to
them forbidding oneself something would be an oath only in case
express words of oath are used when forbidding it for oneself. In
this regard, their reasoning is that since the Holy Prophet (upon
whom be peace) while forbidding himself a lawful thing had also
sworn an oath, as has been reported in several traditions, Allah
told him to act according to the method that had been appointed for
absolving oneself from oaths.

The
second group says that to forbid oneself something without using the
words of oath is not an oath by itself, but the case of the wife is
an exception. If a person has forbidden himself a garment, or an
article of food, it is meaningless, and one can use it without
expiation. But if concerning a wife or a slave-girl he has said: "I
forbid myself an intercourse with her," she would not become
unlawful and forbidden, but one would have to expiate the oath
before going in to her. This is the opinion of the Shafe'is. (Mugni
al-Muhtaj). And a similar opinion on this question is held by the
Malikis. (Ibn al-'Arabi, Ahkam al-Qur an).

The third
group says that to forbid oneself something is by itself an oath
even if the words of oath have not been used. This is the opinion of
Hadrat Abu Bakr. Hadrat 'A'ishah, Hadrat 'Umar, Hadrat 'Abdullah bin
Mas'ud, Hadrat Zaid bin Thabit and Hadrat 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas (may
Allah bless them all). Although from Ibn 'Abbas another opinion has
been reported in Bukhari to the effect: "If a man has forbidden
himself his wife, it is meaningless," yet it has been
interpreted to mean that according to him this is not divorce but an
oath which entails an expiation. For in Bukhari, Muslim and Ibn
Majah, another saying of Ibn 'Abbas has been reported that to forbid
oneself one's wife entails an expiation, and in Nasa'i the tradition
is to the effect that when Ibn 'Abbas was asked his opinion on this,
he said: "She is not forbidden to you, but you must pay the
expiation." and in Ibn Jarir's tradition the words of Ibn
'Abbas are to the effect: "If the people forbid themselves what
Allah has made lawful for them, they must expiate their oath."
This same is the opinion of Hasan Basri, 'Ata, Ta'us. Suleman bin
Yasar. Ibn Jubair and Qatadah, and the same has been adopted by the
Hanafis. Imam Abu Bakr al-Jassas says: `The words of the verse lima
tuharrimu do not indicate that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace)
along with forbidding himself the lawful thing had also sworn an
oath, therefore, one will have to admit that tahrim (to forbid
oneself something) itself is an oath; for after it Allah made
obligatory the expiation of the oath in connection with the
prohibition." Farther on he writes again: 'Our companions (i.e.
the Hanafis) regard tahrim as an oath in case it is not accompanied
by the intention of divorce. If a person forbade himself his wife,
he in fact said: "By God, I will not come near you," thus,
he committed ila' (act of temporary separation! . And if he forbade
himself an article of food. etc, he in a way said: "By God, I
will not use that article." For Allah first said: "Why do
you forbid that which Allah has made lawful?" and then said.
"Allah has appointed a way to absolve you from your oaths."
Thus, Allah has regarded tahrim as an oath, and the word tahrim in
its meaning and legal effect becomes synonymous with an oath."

Here, for
the benefit of the common man, it would be useful to tell what is
the legal command according to the jurists in respect of forbidding
oneself one's wife and forbidding oneself other things besides the
wife.

The
Hanafis say that if without the intention of divorce somebody
forbade himself his wife, or swore an oath that he would not have
conjugal relations with her, this would be ila (temporary
separation), and in this cast he would have to expiate his oath
before having the sexual relation. But if with the intention Of
divorce he said: "You are unlawful to me," it will have to
be ascertained what was his actual intention. If his intention was
of three divorces, the three divorces will take place, and if the
intention was of a lesser number, of one or two divorces, only one
divorce will take place in either case. And if some body says: "I
have forbidden myself whatever was lawful for me, this would not
apply to the wife unless he said these words with the intention of
forbidding himself the wife. Apart from the wife, one cannot use the
thing O11e has forbidden oneself until one has expiated the oath.
Badai as-Sana'i: Hedayah; Fath Al-Qadir,' al-Jassas, Ahkam al-Qur
an.

The
Shafe'is say that if one forbids oneself the wife with the intention
of divorce or zihar, the intended thing would become effective,
whether it is a revocable divorce or an irrevocable divorce, or
zihar. And if a person used the words of tahrim with the intention
of both divorce and zihar, he would be asked to choose one, or the
other, for both divorce and zihar cannot be established at one and
the same time. Divorce dissolves marriage but in case of zihar it
continues and if without any intention the wife is forbidden, she
would not become forbidden, but expiation of the oath would become
necessary. And if another thing, apart from the wife, is forbidden,
it would be meaningless; there is no expiation for it. (Mughni
al-Muhtaj).

The
Malikis say that if a person forbids himself anything other than the
wife, it neither becomes forbidden nor entails an expiation. But if
he says to the wife, "You are unlawful, or unlawful for me, or
I am unlawful for you," this would amount to a triple divorce
in any case whether this was said to a wife with whom marriage has
been consummated, or to one with whom it has not yet been
consummated, unless his intention was of less than three divorces.
Asbagh says: 'If a person says: whatever was lawful for me, is
unlawful, the wife also becomes forbidden unless he makes an
exception of the wife." In al-Mudawwanah, distinction has been
made between the wife with whom marriage has been consummated and
the wife with whom it has not been consummated. If one forbids
oneself the former, a threefold divorce will take place irrespective
of the intention, but in case of the latter the same number of
divorces would take effect as was intended, and if there was no
intention of any particular number, it would be considered a triple
divorce (Hashiyah ad-Dusuqi). Qadi Ibn al-'Arabi in his Ahkam
al-Qur'an has cited three statements of Imam Malik: (1) That
forbidding oneself the wife amounts to an irrevocable divorce; (2)
that it amounts to three divorces; and (3) that in case of the wife
with whom marriage has been consummated it amounts to three
divorces, bat in case of the one with whom it has not been
consummated, to only one divorce if one was intended Then he says:
'The correct thing is that forbidding oneself the wife amounts to
one divorce only. for if the man uses the word divorce instead of
calling her unlawfirl without specifying the number, only one
divorce will take place."

Three
different views in this regard have been reported from Imam Ahmad
bin Hanbal: (1) That to forbid oneself the wife, or to make a lawful
thing absolutely unlawful for oneself, is zihar, whether zihar was
intended or not; (2) that this is an express allusion to divorce,
and it amounts to pronouncing a triple divorce whether only one
divorce was intended; and (3) that it is an oath, unless The man had
the intention of divorce or zihar and in this case the same would
take effect as was intended. Of these only the first one is the best
known view among the Hanbalis. (Al-Insaf)

5That
is, "Allah is your Master and Guardian of your affairs. He
knows best in what lies your own good, and whatever Commands He has
given, they are all based on wisdom. "The first thing means:
"You are not independent in this world, but you are servant of
Allah and He is your Master; therefore, none of you possesses any
power to alter or change the ways and methods prescribed by Him; the
best thing for you is to entrust your affairs to Him and continue to
obey Him."

The
second thing means that all the methods and laws that Allah has
enjoined, are based on knowledge and wisdom, Whatever He has made
lawful, has been made lawful on the basis of knowledge and wisdom
and whatever He has made unlawful also has been made unlawful on the
basis of knowledge and wisdom. Nothing has been made lawful or
unlawful at random. Therefore, those who believe in Allah should
understand that it is Allah Who is AII-Knowing and All-Wist and not
they. and their well-being lies only in carrying out duly the
Commands given by Him.

6Different
things have been reported in different traditions, saying that the
Holy Prophet had told such and such a thing to one of his wives in
confidence, which she disclosed to another wife. But for us, in the
first place, it is not right to investigate it, for it is on the
disclosure of a secret that Allah is taking a wife to task it cannot
therefore be right for us to inquire into it and try to uncover it.
Secondly, in view of the object for which this verse was sent down,
it is not at all important to know what the secret was. Had it any
connection with the object of the discourse, Allah would Himself
have mentioned it The real object for which this incident has been
related in the Qur'an is to warn the Holy Prophet's wives and.
through them, the wives of the responsible people among the Muslims
not to be careless in the matter of guarding secrets. Had it been
only a private and personal affair, as is generally the case between
the husband and the wife in the world there was no need that Allah
should have directly informed the Holy Prophet of it through
revelation, and then did not rest content only with giving the
information, but should also have recorded it in the Holy Book which
the whole world has to recite forever. The reason why it was given
such importance was that this wife was not the wife of an ordinary
husband but of that illustrious husband, whom Allah had appointed to
the office of the highest responsibility, who was locked in an
incessant battle with the disbelievers, polytheists and hypocrites
at all times and under whose leadership a fierce conflict was going
on for establishing Islam in place of paganism. In the house of such
an illustrious man there could be countless things which if not kept
secret but disclosed before time, could harm the great mission which
he was performing. Therefore, when a lady of the house happened to
show this weakness for the first time in that she disclosed a secret
that had been told her in confidence, to another (a member of her
own household), the weakness was immediately pointed out to her, not
secretly but openly in the Qur'an, so as to impart training in the
guarding of secrets not only to the wives of the Holy Prophet but
also to the wives of all responsible people of the Muslim community.
In the verse the question whether the secret disclosed pertained to
a matter of any consequence or not, and whether its disclosure could
cause any harm to the mission or not, has been altogether ignored.
What has been disapproved and pointed out in particular is that the
secret was disclosed to another. The higher the position of
responsibility a person holds the more dangerous would be the
leakage of secrets from his house. No matter whether a thing is of
any consequence or not, once a person becomes careless in the matter
of guarding secrets, he may reveal important things as well as
trivial matters.

7The
word saghat in the original is from Baghy which means to swerve and
to become crooked. Shah Waliyullah and Shah Rafi'uddin have
translated this sentence thus: "Crooked have become your
hearts." Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas,
Sufyan Thauri and Dahhak have given this meaning of it: "Your
hearts have swerved from the right path." Imam Razi explains it
thus: "Your hearts have swerved from what is right, and the
right implies the right of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's
peace)." And 'Allama Alusi's commentary is Although it is
incumbent on you that you should approve what the Holy Messenger
(upon whom he peace) approves and disapprove what he disapproves,
yet in this matter your hearts have swerved from conformity with him
and turned in opposition to him."

8The
word tazahur means to cooperate mutually in opposition to another
person, or to be united against another person. Shah Waliyullah has
translated this sentence, thus: "If you mutually join together
to cause distress to the Prophet. " Shah 'Abdul Qadir's
translation is: "If you both overwhelm him." Maulana
Ashraf 'Al Thanwi's translation urns: "And if you both
continued to work thus against the Prophet. " And Maulana
Shabbir Ahmad 'Uthmami has explained it thus: ,"If you two
continued to work and behave thus (against the Prophet)."

The verse
is clearly addressed to two ladies and the context shows that these
ladies are from among the wives of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be
peace) for in vv. 1-5 of this Surah the affairs concerning the Holy
Prophet's wives only have been discussed continuously, and this
becomes obvious from the style of the Qur'an itself. .As for the
question who were the wives, and what was the matter which caused
Allah's displeasure, the details are found in the Hadith. In Musnad
Ahmad, Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and Nasa'i, a detailled tradition
of Hadrat 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas has been related, which describes the
incident with sane variation in wording. Ibn 'Abbas says:

"I
had been thinking a long time to ask Hadrat 'Umar as to who were the
two of the Holy Prophet's wives, who had joined each other against
him, and about whom Allah sent down this verse: In tatuba.....; but
I could not muster courage because of his awe-inspiring personality
until he left for Hajj and I accompanied him. On our way back while
helping him to perform ablutions for the Prayer at one place I had
an opportunity to ask him this question. He replied: they were
'A'ishah and Hafsah. Then he began to relate the background, saying:
"We, the people of Quraish, were used to keeping our women folk
under strict control. Then. when we came to Madinah, we found that
the people here were under the control of their wives, and the women
of Quraish too started learning the same thing from them. One day
when I became angry with my wife, I was amazed to see that she
argued with me. I felt badly about her conduct. She said, 'Why
should you feel so angry at my behavior? By God, the wives of the
Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) answer him back face to face,'
(the word in the original is li yuraji nahu) and some one of them
remains angrily apart from hire for the whole day. (According to
Bukhari: the Holy Prophet remains angry and- apart from her the
whole day). Hearing this I came out of my house and went to Hafsah
(who was Hadrat `Umar's daughter and the Holy Prophet's wife). I
asked her. Do you answer back to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be
peace) face to face? She said: Yes. asked: And does one of you
remain apart from him for the whole day (According to Bukhari: the
Holy Prophet remains angry and apart from her for the entire day).
She said: Yes. I said: Wretched is the one from among you, who
behaves thus. Has one of you become so fearless of this that Allah
should afflict her with His wrath because of the wrath of His
Prophet and she should perish? So, do not be rude to the Prophet
(here also the words are: la turaji-'i), nor demand of him anything,
but demand of me whatever you desire. Do not be misled by this that
your neighbor (i.e. Hadrat `A'ishah) is more beautiful and dearer to
the Holy Prophet. After this I left her house and went to the house
of Umm Salamah, who was related to me, and talked to her on this
subject. She said: Son of Khattab, you are a strange man: you have
meddled in every matter until you are now interfering in the affair
between Allah's Messenger and his wives. She discouraged me. Then it
so happened that an Ansari neighbor came to my house at night and he
called out to me. We used to sit in the Holy Prophet's assembly by
turns and each used to pass on to the other the news of the day of
his turn. It was the time when we were apprehending an attack by the
Ghassanids any time. On his call when I came out of my house, he
said that something of grave significance had happened. 1 said: Have
the Ghassanids launched an attack? He said: No, but something even
more serious! The Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) has divorced his
wives. I said: Doomed is Hafsah (the words in Bukhari are: Raghima
anfu Hafsah wa `Aishah). I already had a premonition of this."

We have
left out what happened after this, how next morning Hadrat 'Umar
went before the Holy Prophet and tried to appease his anger. We have
described this incident by combining the traditions of Musnad Ahmad
and Bukhari. In this the word muraj`at which Hadrat `Umar has used
cannot be taken in its literal sense, but the context shows that the
word has been used in the sense of answering back face to face and
Hadrat `Umar's saying to his daughter: La turaji- `I Rasul Allah
clearly has the meaning: Do not be impudent to the Messenger of
Allah, Some people say that this is a wrong translation, and their
objection is: Although it is correct to translate muraja `at as
answering hack, or answering hack face to face, yet it is not
correct to translate it as "bing impudent" . These
objectors do not understand that if a person of a lower rank or
position answers back or retorts to a person of a higher rank and
position, or answers him back face to face this very thing is
described as impudence. For example, if a father rebukes his son for
something or feels angry at his behaviour, and the son instead of
keeping quiet or offering an excuse, answers back promptly this
could only he described as impudence. Then, when the matter is not
between a father and a son, but between the Messenger of Allah and
an individual of his community, only a foolish person could say that
it was not impudence.

Some
other people regard this translation of ours as disrespectful,
whereas it could be disrespectful in case we had had the boldness to
use such words in respect of Hadrat Hafsah from ourselves. We have
only given the correct meaning of the words of .Hadrat 'Umar, and
these words he had used while scolding and reproving his daughter
for her error. Describing it as disrespectful would mean that either
the father should treat his daughter with due respect and reverence
even when scolding and rebuking her or else the translator should
render his rebuke and reproof in a way as to make it sound
respectful and reverent.

Here,
what needs to be considered carefully is that if it was such an
ordinary and trivial matter that when the Holy Prophet said
something to his wives they would retort to Him, why was it given so
much importance that in the Qur'an Allah administered a severe
warning directly to the wives themselves? And why did Hadrat 'Umar
take it as such a grave matter that first he reproved his own
daughter, then visited the house of the other wives and asked them
to fear the wrath of Allah? And, about all, was the Holy Prophet
(upon whom be peace) also so sensitive that he would take offense at
minor things and become annoyed with his wives, and was he, God
forbid, so irritable that once having been annoyed at such things he
had severed his connections with all his wives and retired to his
private apartment in seclusion? If a person considers these
questions deeply, he will inevitably have to adopt one of the two
views in the explanation of these verses Either on account of his
excessive concern for reverence for the holy wives he should not at
all mind if a fault is imputed to Allah and His Messenger, or else
he should admit in a straightforward way that at that time the
attitude and behavior of these holy wives has actually become so
objectionable that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) was
justified in becoming annoyed over it, and more than that, Allah
Himself was justified that He should administer a severe warning to
the wives on their unseemly behavior and attitude.

9That
is, "You would only harm yourselves if you upheld and supported
each other against the Messenger of Allah (upon whom be Allah's
peace), for none could succeed against him whose Protector was Allah
and who had Gabriel and the angels and all the righteous Believers
on his side. "

10This
shows that the fault did not lie only with Hadrat 'A'isha and Hadrat
Hafsah but the other wives also had some share in it. That is why,
after them, all the other wives too, have been warned in this verse.
No light has been thrown on the nature of the error in the Qur'an.
However, some details are found in the Hadith, which we shall relate
below.

In
Bukhari, a tradition has been reported from Hadrat Anas, saying that
Hadrat 'Umar said: "The Holy Prophet's wives because of their
mutual envies and rivalries had utterly displeased him. At this I
said to them: It may well be that if the Holy Prophet divorced you,
Allah would give him in your place better wives than you. " Ibn
Abi Hatim has, on the authority of Hadrat Anas, reported the
statement of Hadrat Umar in these words: "I was informed that a
discord had been created between the Holy Prophet (upon whom be
peace) and his wives. At this I went to each of them and asked them
to refrain from vexing the Holy Prophet; otherwise Allah would give
him in their stead better wives than them selves. So much so that
when I went to the last of them (and according to a tradition of
Bukhari, to Umm Salamah), she said to me: O `Umar, is not the Holy
Prophet (upon whom be peace) himself enough to admonish his wives?
Then why should you come out to counsel them? This made me quiet,
and after this Allah sent down this verse.'

In
Muslim, Hadrat `Abdullah bin 'Abbas has related that Hadrat 'Umar
said to him: "When the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's
peace) separated himself from his wives, I went to the Mosque and
found the people worried and upset and playing with pebbles and
saying to one another: 'The Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) has
divorced his wives.' After this Hadrat `Umar related his visiting
the apartments of Hadrat 'A'ishah and Hafsah and admonishing them.
then said: I went before the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) and
said: Why do you feel upset with regard to your wives? If you
divorce them, Allah is with you, all the angels and Gabriel and
Michael arc with you, and I and Abu Bakr and all the Believers are
with you. I thank Allah that seldom has it so happened that I said a
thing and did not have hope from Allah that He would testify to what
I said. So, after this these verses of Surah At-Tahrim were sent
down. Then I asked the Holy Prophet: Have you divorced your wives'?
He said: No. Thereupon I stood at the entrance of the Mosque and
announced in a loud voice: The Holy Prophet has not divorced his
wives."

The
traditions related in Bukhari from Hadrat Anas and in Musnad Ahmad
from Hadrat 'Abdullah bin `Abbas, Hadrat 'A'ishah and Hadrat Abu
Hurairah say that the Holy Prophet had pledged to remain away from
his wives for a month and he retired in seclusion to his apartment.
When 29 days passed, Gabriel carne and said; "You have
fulfilled your oath: a month has come to completion."

Hafiz
Badruddin 'Aini in 'Umdat al-Qari has related this on the authority
of Hadrat 'A'ishah: The wives of the Holy Prophet had become divided
into two parties. one party consisted of Hadrat 'A'ishah herself and
Hadrat Hafsah. Hadrat Saudah and Hadrat Safiyyah, and the other of
Hadrat Zainab, Hadrat.Umm Salamah and the rest of the wives.

These
traditions indicate to some extent the conditions ,that existed in
the Holy Prophet's domestic life at that time, which made it
necessary that Allah Almighty should intervene and reform the
attitude of the holy wives. Although the wives were the best ladies
of society, yet they were human beings and were not tree from human
weaknesses. Sometimes when it became difficult for them to lead a
life of continuous poverty and hardship, they would become restive,
impatient and would start pressing the Holy Prophet for better
maintenance. At this Allah sent down vv. 28-29 of Surah Al-Ahzab and
admonished them to the effect: 'If you seek the world and its
adornments,.our Messenger will give you of these and send you of in
a good way. But if you seek Allah and His Messenger and the
Hereafter, you should bear up against the hardships with patience,
which you might have to face when living with the Messenger."
(For details, see E.N. 41 of Surah Al-Ahzab and the Introduction to
it). Then on account of the feminine nature they sometimes happened
to behave in a way, which though not unusual in everyday human life,
did not go well with the unique dignity and great responsibilities
of the house to which Allah had given them the honor to belong. So,
when it was apprehended that those things might embitter the Holy
Prophet's domestic life and might even adversely affect the great
mission that Allah had entrusted to him, He sent down this verse in
the Qur'an, and reformed them so that the holy wives may realize the
responsibilities of the position and rank which they had attained as
the life-companions of the Last Messenger of Allah, and should not
regard themselves as ordinary women and their household as a common
household. The very first sentence of this verse was such as might
have caused Their hearts to shudder. There could be no severer
warning for them than ,this: `It may well be that if the Prophet
divorces all of you, Allah will give him in your place better wives
than yourselves." In the first place, even the thought of being
divorced by the Prophet (upon whom be Allah's peace) was unbearable
for them: more than that, this would deprive them of the honor of
being Mothers of the Believers, and the other women whom Allah would
give as wives to the Prophet would be better than them, After this
it was no longer possible for the holy wives to behave in a way as
would have occasioned a reproof from Allah. That is why we find only
two places in the Qur'an where these select and distinguished ladies
have been administered a warning, in Surah Al-Ahzab and here in
Surah At-Tahrim.

11In
the places where the words Muslim and mu min have been used
together, Muslim means the one who carries out Divine commands
practically, and mu min the one who believes sincerely and truly
Thus, the foremost quality of the best Muslim wives is that they
should be believing in Allah and His Messenger and His Religion
(din) sincerely and also practically following Allah's Religion in
their morals, habits, customs and conduct.

13The
word when used as attribute of a man does not imply the one who
offers repentance only once but the one who continues to implore
Allah again and again for the forgiveness of his mistakes, whose
conscience is alive and active, who is always a are of his
weaknesses and errors and is penitent for them. Such a person never
feels proud, arrogant and conceited, but is gentle and clement by
nature.

14A
worshiper can never be so heedless of God as a non-worshiper. This
also helps much in making a woman a good wife. Being devout she
adheres to the bounds set by Allah, recognizes and discharges the
rights of others and keeps her faith fresh and alive at all times.
Because of these qualities she can better be expected that she would
not reject obedience to Divine Commands.

15The
word saihat in the original has been interpreted by several
companions and large number of their successors to mean the same as
sa imat (those given to fasting). The reason why the word siyahat
journeying has been used for fasting is that in the ancient times
journeys were mostly undertaken by the monks and ascetics, who had
no provisions and had to go without food till they got something to
eat from somewhere. On that account fasting also is a kind of
asceticism, for a faster has to remain hungry until the time of
breaking the fast. Ibn Jarir in his Commentary of At-Taubah 12 has
cited a saying of Hadrat 'A'ishah, saying: "The journeying
(i.e. asceticism) of the Ummah is fasting. Here, making mention of
fasting as an attribute of the pious wives does not mean that they
observe the obligatory fasting month of Ramadan only but that they
observe voluntary fasts also besides the obligatory fasts.

Addressing
the holy wives Allah's saying: "If the Holy Messenger divorces
all of you, Allah will give him in your place better wives who will
have this quality" does not mean that the wives were not
virtuous, but it means; "Give up your wrong conduct which is
causing so much distress to the Holy Prophet; instead, pay attention
to developing in yourselves these noble qualities to the highest
degree.'

16This
verse tells that a person's responsibility is not confined to making
effort to save himself from the punishment of God but it is also his
responsibility that he should so educate and train to the best of
his ability members of his family also to become Allah's favorite
servants, who have been entrusted to his care in the natural process
of life; and if they might be following a path to Hell, he should
try. as far as he can, to correct them. His concern should not only
be that his children should lead a happy and prosperous life in the
world but; more than that, he should be anxious to see that they do
not become fuel of Hell in the Hereafter. According to a tradition
reported in Bukhiiri by Hadrat `Abdullah bin 'Umar, the Holy Prophet
(upon whom be peace) said: "Each one of you is a herdsman and
is accountable with regard to his herd: the ruler is a herdsman and
is accountable with regard to his subjects; the man is a herdsman of
his family and is accountable with regard to them; and the woman is
a herdsman of her husband's house and his children and is
accountable with regard to them."

17That
is, they will enforce on every culprit precisely the same punishment
which they will be commanded to enforce on him without making any
alteration in it, or showing any pity for him.

18The
style of both these verses contains a severe warning for the
Muslims. In the first verse the Muslims have been addressed and told
that they should save themselves and their households from the
dreadful punishment; in the second that this will be said to the
disbelievers while subjecting them to punishment in Hell. This by
itself gives the meaning that the Muslims in the world should avoid
adopting that conduct and behavior in consequence of which they may
have to meet with the fate as the disbelievers in the Hereafter.

19Literally,
"taubat an-nasuh-an "may either mean that one should offer
such true repentance as may have no tinge of pretense and hypocrisy
in it, or that one should wish one's own self well and repenting of
sin should save oneself from the evil end, or that one should so
adorn and improve one's life after repentance as to become a cause
of admonition for others, and seeing his example others also may
reform themselves accordingly. These are the meanings of taubat
an-nasuh which- are indicated by its literal sense. As for its
religious meaning, its explanation is found in the Hadith which Ibn
Abi, Hatim has related on the authority of Zirr bin Hubaish. He
says: "When I asked Hadrat Ubayy bin Ka'b the meaning of taubat
an-nasuh, he said that he had asked the Holy Prophet (upon whom be
peace) the same question, and he had replied: 'It implies that when
you happen to commit an error, you should feel penitent for it, then
should implore Allah for forgiveness remorsefully, and then should
refrain from committing the same error again." This same
meaning has been reported from hadrat 'Umar. Hadrat 'Abdullah bin
Mas'ud and Hadrat 'Abdullah bin `Abbas also, and in a tradition
Hadrat 'Umar has defined taubat an-nasuh, thus: “After
offering repentance one should not even think of committing the sin,
not to speak of repeating it." (Ibn Jarir) Hadrat 'Ali once
heard a desert Arab chanting the words of repentance and forgiveness
quickly and mechanically and remarked: “This is the repentance
of the liars.” The man asked: “What is true repentance?”
Hadrat 'Ali replied: “It should be accompanied by six things:

(1) You
should feel penitent for the wrong you have done: (2) you should
carry out the duties that you have ignored; t3) restore the rights
that you have usurped; (4) ask forgiveness of him whom you have
wronged; (S) make a resolve not to repeat the sin again; and (6)
consume yourself in obedience to Allah as you have so far been
consuming it in wrongdoing, and cause it to taste the bitterness of
obedience as you have so far been causing it to enjoy the sweet
taste of disobedience and sin. “ (Al-Kashshaf)

In
connection with repentance there are some other points also which
should be well understood: (1) That repentance, in fact, is to show
remorse for an act of disobedience only because it is a disobedience
of Allah; otherwise to make a resolve to refrain from a sin because
it is harmful for health, for instance, or it is likely to cause
defamation or financial loss, is no repentance; (2) that man should
offer repentance as soon as he realizes that he has committed
disobedience of Allah and should compensate for it without delay in
whatever form possible and should not defer it in any way; (3) that
violating one's repentance again and making a jest of repentance and
repeating the sin again and again of which one has repented, is a
proof of the falsity of one's repentance, for the essence of
repentance, is penitence, and breaking one's repentance repeatedly
is a sign that it has not been motivated by penitence; (4) that if
the person who has repented sincerely and resolved not to repeat the
sin again, happens to repeat it once again because of human
weakness, it will not revive his past sin: however, he should offer
a fresh repentance for the latter sin sod should resolve more firmly
that he would not commit the sin in future; (5) that it is not
necessary to renew one's repentance again every time one remembers
the disobedience committed in the past, but if one's self derives
pleasure from the remembrance of the past, sinful life, one should
offer repentance again and again until the remembrance of the sins
causes remorse instead of pleasure and enjoyment. For the person who
has actually repented of disobedience because of fear of God cannot
derive pleasure from the thought chat he has been disobeying God.
His deriving pleasure from it is a sign that fear of God has not
taken root in his heart.

20The
words of the verse deserve deep consideration. It has not been said
chat if you repeat, you will surely be forgiven and will certainly
be admitted to Paradise, but that: "If you offer true
repentance, it may well be that Allah will treat you kindly."
It means that it is not incumbent upon Allah to accept the
repentance of the sinner and to grant him Paradise instead of
subjecting him to punishment but it will be His kindness and
compassion that He may forgive well as reward His servant. One
should have hope of His forgiveness, but one should not commit a sin
with the confidence that one will achieve forgiveness by
repentance.

21That
is, “He will not allow the reward of their good deeds to go to
waste. He will not let the disbelievers and the hypocrites taunt the
believers that they had gained nothing n spite of their worship.
Humiliation will be the fate of the rebels and the disobedient and
not of the faithful and obedient.”

22When
this verse is read along with w. 12-13 of Surah AI-Hadid, it becomes
clear that the running on of the light before the believers will
take place when they will be proceeding towards Paradise from the
Plain of Resurrection. There it will be pitch dark all around and
those who will have been condemned to Hell, will be groping; about
in it; the light will only be with the believers by which they will
be traveling on their way. On this critical occasion, hearing the
wailings and groanings of those groping in the dark the believers
will be feeling terror stricken. In view of their past errors and
short-comings they will be afraid lest they too should be deprived
of their light and made to grope about like those-wretched people.
Therefore, they will pray: "O our Lord, forgive us our sins and
let our light remain with us until we reach Paradise." Ibn
Jarir has cited Hadrat Abdullah bin 'Abbas as explaining the meaning
of Rabbana-atimim lava nurana thus They will implore Allah Almighty
that their light be allowed to remain with thetas and kept from
going out until they have crossed the bridge across Hell." The
commentary given by Hadrat Hasan Basri, Mujahid and Dahhak also is
almost the same. Ibn Kathir has cited their this saying: ¦When
the believers see that the hypocrites have been deprived of the
light, they will pray to Allah for the perfection of their light."
(For further explanation, see E.N. 17 of Surah Al Hadid).

24This
betrayal" was not in the sense that they had committed an
indecency but in the sense that they did not follow the Prophets
Noah and Lot on the way of faith but sided with their enemies
against them. Ibn 'Abbas say: “No Prophet's wife has ever been
wicked and immoral The betrayal of these two women in fact was in
the matter of faith and religion: they did not acknowledge the
religion of the Prophets Noah and Lot. The Prophet Noah's wife used
to convey news about the believers to the wicked of her people, and
the Prophet Lot's wife used to inform the immoral people about those
who visited him in his house. "(Ibn Jarir).

25From
Pharaoh and his work : from the evil end that Pharaoh would meet in
consequence of his evil deeds.

26It
may be that the name of Mary's father was Imran, or she may have
been called "daughter of 'Imran" because she belonged to
the family of 'Imran.

27This
is a refutation of the accusation by the Jews that the birth of
Jesus was, God forbid, the result of a sin of his mother. Their same
accusation has been called a monstrous calumny" in An-Nisa`:
156. (For explanation, see E.N. 190 of An-Niasa').

28That
is, without her having any connection with a man, Allah breathed
into her womb a Spirit from Himself. (For explanation, see E.N.'s
212, 213 of An-Nisa' and E.N. 89 of Al-Anbiya').

29For
the explanation of the object for which these three kinds of women
have been cited as an example, see the Introduction to the Surah.